“I have always believed there are no boundaries,” says Josie Cruz Natori, founder and CEO of the
Natori Company.

Exemplifying her own mantra, Ms. Natori has crossed continents, navigated various career paths, and surmounted countless obstacles before creating her eponymous global brand, the House of Natori. Under labels Josie Natori, Natori, Josie, and N Natori, the designer extends her vision through ready-to-wear, lingerie, home, bedding, fragrance, and accessories.

Ms. Natori credits her entrepreneurial nature to the matriarchal society in the Philippines, where she was born and raised, and the support of her close-knit Filipino family. “Women are encouraged to be entrepreneurs,” she says. “My grandmother always said, ‘Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to depend on anyone.’ ”

Fashion was never in her plans. As a child, she displayed a natural affinity for the piano, and performed a solo concert with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra at age 9. Though drawn to the arts, Ms. Natori challenged herself instead with a career in business. She left Manila at 17 for Manhattanville College to pursue economics and joined the corporate world upon graduating. She rose to become the first female vice president of investment banking at Merrill Lynch.

A desire to helm her own business with a strong connection to her native Philippines drove Ms. Natori to explore new possibilities. She fell upon the idea to import embroidered tops, which became the catalyst for a lingerie business that has grown over three decades into the iconic brand. Celebrating Asian aesthetic principles with the spirit of her adopted home in America, she effortlessly melds the visual best of both the East and the West.

“I love my work, but success in fashion is not enough,” says Ms. Natori, who sits on the boards of the
Asian Cultural Council, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Fashion and Design Council of the Philippines. She is also a member of the Committee of 200. She was presented with the Galleon Award in 1988 by then-President of the Republic of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino. She received the Lakandula Award, considered the highest honor for a Filipino citizen, and was recognized with the prestigious Humanitarian Award by Fashion Group International.

What began with creating lingerie on her living room floor has evolved into a lifestyle. “Natori is a total concept, a way of life, ‘where life meets art’,” says Ms. Natori.